Unmasking
by KAthetomboy
Summary: Finally, after so long, Dick has convinced Bruce to let a couple of speedsters help. Although Dick does get what he wants, it doesn't go according to plan. (Summary's not mine (Thank Miminfifi for it), but the story is) (Also this is an old piece of writing) (Also I just used a lot of brackets)


_Just a little one-shot I wrote a few years back. I never posted it because I didn't actually have the ending yet and then I just forgot about it. But hey! I recently found it in my computer files and finished it off! So, here you go._

* * *

Kid Flash could barely contain his excitement. Today was the first time he got to work with Robin. Sure, Batman and Flash would be there too, but Robin was his best friend and he _finally_ got to work with him. On a _proper_ mission.

The two had first met four months ago. After Wally found out that his Uncle was the Flash and gained his own powers, along with becoming Flash's sidekick, he wouldn't stop badgering to meet the Dynamic Duo, in particular, Robin. When Barry finally gave in, with Batman's approval, it didn't take long for the kids to become great friends and they met up all the time, but that was it.

"Ready, Kid?" Barry asked from behind.

"I can barely wait!"

XxxxxxX

Robin smiled and waved to Kid Flash as he and his mentor ran up onto the roof. Batman pushed himself off the steel box, containing the building's data, and remained completely expressionless. His emotionless gaze always made Wally feel uncomfortable, the angry glare was just plain _scary_ and Wally felt himself feeling slightly intimidated as he stood beside Flash, across from two of the greatest crime fighters, one of which was an eleven year old.

"So whatcha' need help with?" Barry asked, cheerfully.

"We don't _need_ your help-" Batman was cut off when Robin cleared his throat and shot him an accusing look. Batman took in a heavy breath before continuing "Some new robbers. Three men all wearing the same clothing, black shirt and pants and navy blue trench coat. The only differences are their masks, simply a different coloured X above their eye. Red, orange and yellow. After they finish, they burn the place down"

Barry raised his eyebrow "And you need _help_ to stop them?"

"They work fast and generally on the other side of town"

"So you need a little _speed_ then, well we'd be happy to help" Barry tried not to sound smug, failing miserably.

Bruce mentally sighed. How did Dick manage to talk him into things all the time? They could've handled it easily but instead Dick pointed out all the flaws in each plan, insisting they need a couple speedsters. 'A couple', in other words, Wally. And how was Bruce supposed to say no to those childishly adorable eyes? Again? Dick had been subtly begging to work with Kid Flash ever since they first met. Bruce had managed to make excuses each time, but Dick had finally broke him.

"It would be" Batman glanced over at his smug partner " _Appreciated_ "

Barry smiled and quickly winked at Robin, who's smile widened in response "Well then, what do you want us to do?"

XxxxxxX

"What makes Bats so sure that this is where they'll hit next?" Kid Flash asked, keeping the annoyance from his voice.

"He figured out a pattern in their heists and if it's correct, then this is the place"

KF sighed loudly "Stakeouts are _sooooooo_ boring"

Robin smiled "It's only been ten minutes"

"I'm a fidgety person, I can't stay still for very long"

"I know the feeling, trust me but I've learnt to deal with it, since stakeouts with Batman take so long"

"How long is 'so long'?"

"The longest so far, six hours"

Wally choked, on what?, he had no idea. " _Six hours!?_ Man that must've been _torture_ "

"Especially with someone as _talkative_ as him"

"Man, that would _kill_ me. My brain would just die from lack of fun"

Robin chuckled "What brain?"

Wally faked an over dramatic look of hurt " _Ouch_. What is wrong with you? That's not friendship!"

Robin smirked but before he could retort, he spotted the pyromanic robbers.

"Bats, I see 'em. They're entering through the side door. Huh smart" Robin muttered the last part to himself, but it was still heard by everyone "What do we do?"

"Nothing" Came the short reply.

" _What!?_ But _Batman!_ What use are we just siting up here watching?"

" _Stay_. That's an _order_ Robin"

Robin huffed and laid down against the cool concrete of the rooftop, staring up at the stars. Wally followed his action.

"So, how's _life_ going?" He asked, trying to create conversation.

Dick smirked to himself. He knew where this was leading and decided to humour his friend.

"My life is going good. What about yours?"

"Fine. And your _school_ life?"

"Great"

"Do you have a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend? I won't judge"

"Nope"

"Any friends? Aside from me of course"

"Yeah, a few"

"Any of them have names?"

Robin's smile widened "Can't tell you that"

He heard Wally sigh quietly.

"Favourite subject?"

Robin paused before answering "Uh, History"

"You don't sound so sure about that" Kid Flash noted.

"Well I'm having trouble deciding between Math and History, I suppose history is more fun-" He shut up when he noticed Wally had lifted himself up and was looking at him strangely "What?" Robin sat up.

"You actually _like math_? Dude, that's messed up"

"Don't you do maths all the time in science?"

"Not exactly. What's wrong?" Panic rose in Wally's voice when he noticed Dick wince.

"I think I just heard Batman break one of the arsonists arms"

Kid Flash laughed "I thought you had hurt yourself!"

"How could I have hurt myself? Specifically without you noticing?"

"Maybe someone fractured one of your ribs and you just didn't tell anyone, or notice"

"If someone fractured one of my ribs, I would know. _Immediately_ "

"But I thought you had a high pain threshold"

"No, I just know how to conceal pain"

"My point exactly" KF wore a look of victory.

Robin rolled his hidden eyes. KF kept making glances up at his friends mask, wishing he could see his eyes and find out who he was.

"Why do you always have to wear that mask?"

"Why do you always have to ask that question?"

"Cause it's a good one. You know I'd never tell"

"Yeah, _I_ know that, but Bats is a hard shell to cut through. Took me long enough to convince him to have us team up"

"Is it even possible for him to smile?" Wally wondered aloud.

"Yes, it's _very_ possible. He smiles quite a lot actually. He just likes to seem tough and intimidating for both the criminals of Gotham and the JL"

"But why the JL? I mean to be on a team, you have to work well together and if you hate each other-"

"He doesn't _hate_ them, he just doesn't _fully_ trust them"

"But you do?"

"I'm better at reading people than Mister Grumps"

"I thought he was the best at everything"

"Oh no, I'm _much_ more talented than him in a _lot_ of ways"

" _Really_?"

"I'm a faster hacker, more agile, better judgment of people and I know how good a friend you are"

Wally cracked a smile but then it faded suddenly "Wait, does that mean that Bats doesn't like me?"

" _No_! He just isn't sure about you"

"So will I _ever_ get to find out who you are?"

"The fact that you haven't just quickly looked, something you and Barry good do quite easily, proves that you're trustworthy, or in my books anyway. But I'm not sure, I don't think I could keep from telling you for the rest of my life, but I don't know"

Wally huffed, loudly and layed onto the roof, head over the edge of the tall building, watching Batman and Flash drag the three unconscious men out. A sudden shout made him turn in surprise.

"Looks like we've hit the jackpot tonight" The obnoxious Australian voice exclaimed.

"Indeed" The iridescent eyes packed full of crazy replied.

Robin was trapped under the foot of Mirror Master. Kid Flash stood up and was prepared to run at them when MM applied more pressure, a slow cracking noise along with a tiny gasp made him stop immediately.

"Let him go" KF demanded, his hands curling into fists.

"Now _why_ would we do that?" Captain Boomerang questioned.

"He has no importance to you, _I'm_ Flash's partner not him"

"But the fact that he's up here with you, implies that he's you friend, and it would be fun to play with Batman in the process" MM countered, applying a little more pressure, to try and get Robin to stop squirming.

Wally had no idea what to do and _where the hell were their mentors_? He quickly glanced down at the street. They were busy fighting the rest of the rogues.

 _'Great'_ Wally mentally sighed.

"We made sure that your _daddies_ would be rather occupied" CB smiled wickedly and Robin made a low growl.

"What was that birdie? I didn't quite catch what you said" MM kneeled down to reach Robin's face.

When Robin remained completely silent, Mirror Master smiled in victory. Wally hated their smug looks. But he didn't know what exactly he could do. Sure, he was fast, but they had some sort of plan that would just make him look like an idiot. He knew, because he'd seen them play multiple different tricks on Flash.

"We should get going, before Batman and Flash manage to take the rest of us down or they run off in fear"

Captain Boomerang smiled before aiming a dart at Kid Flash's neck. He fell to the ground as soon as it broke the skin. His vision went dark and he barely heard Mirror Master's remark lined with malice.

"No one will save you this time, _Kid_ "

He took one last look at his friend. Robin's forlorn expression was all Wally took note of before being enveloped in oblivion.

XxxxxxX

Kid Flash woke up to the sound of Robin groaning. He forced his eyes open and watched as Robin tried to untie himself, the ropes simply burning and cutting away his skin. Both of them had their wrists tied together behind their backs and their legs tied with wire rope which was rusting and slightly frayed.

"Robin, what're you doing?"

"Trying to get us out of here, what do you think?"

"I _think_ that you're hurting yourself"

"You make it sound intentional" Robin grunted "And what are _you_ doing?"

"The ropes are metal, what am I _supposed_ to be doing?"

"Can't you molecule shift out?"

"Uh, no actually"

" _What_?" Robin looked over in disbelief.

"I just _can't_ , Barry thinks it might be because I'm only young or I'm not fast enough" Kid Flash admitted shamefully.

"Well, that sucks" Robin continued trying to untie himself while Wally sat, feeling helpless.

The silence was broken when a smug Digger Harkness waltzed in. Robin froze immediately.

"So, how you feelin', kids?"

Before Robin, or Kid Flash, could open their mouth to answer, Captain Cold and Mirror Master walked in as well.

"We've finally come to an agreement with what to do with you" Captain Cold stated.

"And what would _that_ be?" Dick rolled his eyes.

Mirror Master walked up to Robin and grabbed the mask "This" He pulled the mask off.

Dick turned his head away and screwed his eyes shut.

"Stubborn, innit he?" A new voice called out.

Wally looked back to see Heatwave standing in the doorway. He crouched down near Robin and after a knowing glance between the rogues, he smiled before lifting his flame gun up.

"No! Don't!" Kid Flash tried to protest.

Dick tried to shut his eyes even tighter, as he prepared for whatever pain they were planning to put him through. He knew that he couldn't keep his eyes closed if they tried torture and just kept wishing for Batman to hurry up. Heatwave pulled the trigger and the unexpected burning caused Dick's eyes to shoot open and a gasp to leave his mouth, followed by a cry.

"STOP IT!" KF demanded "Please!" Tears formed in his eyes as he watched his friend trying to contain his pain.

"Heatwave! We want them _alive_ " Captain Cold reminded his pyromanic friend. _And mostly unharmed in general_ , he refrained from saying. They were all curious as to who the famous _Boy Wonder_ was. So what if it took a little pain to cure their curiosity?

He reluctantly shut the gun off and backed away.

"Can't understand why you would bother hiding your identity, you don't seem important" He said, staring into the unmasked eyes of Robin.

Wally felt shocked partly because Robin was Dick Grayson but mostly because the rogues didn't recognize him. Dick felt completely confused but only showed anger. Captain Cold turned to Kid Flash and contemplated.

"We'll leave you for later, can't have two disappointments in a row"

The rogues filed out and left the room to the two children.

"Dick Grayson?"

"Yep, thanks for announcing that, _Wally West_ "

"No fair!"

"If you give away my identity, I'm taking you down with me"

"I remember you performing once, a few nights before-" Wally paused, not sure how to continue.

"Before they died" Dick remained emotionless, but he felt close to tears as he remembered them falling, his mother calling out to him and then the sound of them hitting the ground, the bones smashing, the blood...

"Yeah, _that_. I always admired the skills you and your family had. Kinda wanted to meet you" Wally laughed quietly "Guess I got my wish"

Dick smiled "This solves your problem of having to find out who I am"

"I'm sure I would've found out eventually"

Dick laughed "Yeah right!"

"You doubting my detective skills?"

"Not exactly, I'm just saying they're not good enough. But I _am_ still stuck on the fact that _they_ have no idea who I am"

"It's Central City, not many people here know much about other cities. Over here, practically no one will recognize you, you'll just be some random kid"

"Cool. I need to come here more often"

"That you do. I know a great place you could start with"

"Really? Where would that be?" Dick asked sarcastically.

"Well, there's this great place full of video games, and movies, and food. I believe it's called _my house_ "

Dick smirked "Sounds very inviting. Got anything besides games, movies and food?"

"A small gym in the basement, and a science lab beside it, in a seperate room of course"

Dick nodded thoughtfully "It get many tourists a year?"

Wally looked off thoughtfully "A couple annual visitors. Like Grandma Pestle, Danial Lonte. Sometimes just random stragglers, or lost people. We don't earn much from the visits. I haven't managed to convince Aunt Iris to make a gift shop yet"

Dick laughed "I could get Alfred to help make some toy animals, if you want"

"Yeah! That'd be great! Maybe if we had merchandise, Aunt Iris would really think about opening a gift shop!"

"What do you think the Bat and the Flash are doing?" Dick asked suddenly, only really remembering them now.

"Probably fretting over where the hell we are, what the Rogues want, how to find us, what to do with the Rogues for _taking us_. Yeah, I'm sure they're pretty busy"

"Guess we'll either have to find our own way out, or wait for them. What do you vote for?"

"Well, it would be easier to just play the damsel for once-"

Dick snorted "For _once_?"

"Shut up" Wally retaliated "But I vote we find our own way out. Don't wanna waste time doing nothing, right?" He continued, as if he had never been interrupted.

"My thoughts exactly" Dick said as he pulled his hands 'round to the front, rope free.

With his hands free, he worked on his legs, the results being a lot faster.

"Hmm..."

" _Robin_ , come on. Untie me"

"I'm not so sure I should, I mean, -"

"You're just wasting time" Wally shook his head "What would Batsy think, huh?"

"He'd think I was doing the whole of Central City, and my future, a favour"

"Well since when have you cared for his judgement?" Wally argued.

"That's a good question. And I don't have a perfect answer. Oh well, bye!" Dick grabbed his mask, placing it back on his face. Wally was amazed by how it actually made a difference.

"Hey!" The yellow speedster complained when Robin turned his back.

"Oh alright!" Dick spun around dramatically "Guess I'd best help you out. Not sure how long I can hide from an angry red speedster afterall"

"I have a right mind to tie _you_ back up" Wally remarked, as Dick began working on the wire ropes keeping him still.

"Yeah, but then you'd have an angry _Bat_ to deal with. Couldn't hide from him in the darkest corner of the earth"

"I could try the brightest"

"Trust me, he'd love that even more"

"You know, you really do have one hell of a Guardian"

"That I do. Now, how do we get out of here?"

"Why not try the front door?"

Robin looked sideways at him "But aren't they just outside?"

"I'm fast. And besides, we can beat 'em up"

Dick thought for a second "Fair point. But,-" Dick walked over and tried the handle "They locked it"

" _Riiiight_. I forgot they were smart. Guess we'll just have to climb through some window then"

"Guess so" Dick walked over to the window-lined wall "Boost me up, will ya? Thanks" He continued, barely a second after asking, and set to opening the window.

It was old and mildly heavy, but easily opened. He hooked his arms around the ledge and pulled himself up, with a helpful push from Kid Flash.

The windows opened out onto an alleyway that was currently abandoned. Which made the kid heroes situations a little less awkward. At least no one would see them looking like fools.

"You need a hand up?" Robin asked, politely.

"I'm taller than you, I'm fine" Kid Flash retorted as he gripped the windowsill and only struggled a tiny bit in pulling himself up.

"Window a little small for you?" Dick couldn't help but tease his puffed out best friend.

"Shut up" Wally huffed "That windowsill hurts when your stomach gets dragged across it!"

"I wouldn't know, would I?"

"I think you're even more of a jerk now that I know who you are"

"That could have two meanings" Dick muttered "So what now? We try to take out the Rogues, or we try to find our mentors?"

"I don't think we really need to worry about either" Wally remarked, looking on the roof of the building they had been stuck in.

"Why's that?" Dick was in the middle of asking as he turned around and his eyes caught sight of Batman and Flash standing atop the roof, looking down on them, with the rogues tied up just behind them.

"You found us!" Robin congratulated "But as you can see, we already found our way out"

"You both alright?" Flash asked, down in front of them now. He seemed like he was trying to be strict. Like _they_ were in fault of being kidnapped.

"Yep fine. Well, pudge over here is a little winded from the climbing out the _window_ , but-"

"Hey!" Wally interrupted, punching his annoying little friend, and only recieving a grin in return.

Batman was back on the ground now to, portraying no emotion. But Dick could see what he was trying to hide. He had been worried. Robin smiled reasurringly to his mentor. He saw the worry leave after that.

The two had some kind of _pyschic connection_ almost. They both just _knew_ when the other was in danger, what the other was thinking and read each other's emotions with ease, even if the other didn't like that.

The only real problem they had, was when false fear made their way into their hearts. Like it had to Bruce tonight. He didn't personally know the Rogues, he didn't know if they were willing to kill children, even though they explicitly explained how they were against that sort of thing. Murder just wasn't their aim, and as far as Dick was concerned, they were pretty nice for criminals.

"So _oooo_. When can we do this again?" Robin asked, to break the tiny silence.

Flash glanced over at Batman, who was glaring at his junior partner.

"I'll take that as a _'soon'_ then?" Dick said hopefully.

"We'll discuss this back at the cave, Robin"

"Right. See ya KF" Dick followed after his caped guardian, turning back to shrug to Wally, recieving a smile in response.

"Guess we'd better get back home too, huh? Iris won't be too pleased about us missing dinner. _Again_ "

"What about the Rogues?" Wally pointed up with his eyes.

In a flash, the older speedster was gone, only to come back within the second, Rogues gone from sight "Ah, the police can handle them" He smiled.

"Yeah, but can _we_ handle Aunt Iris?" Wally stated as they started running.

XxxxxxX

"How are your wrists?" Bruce asked, removing the cowl as they walked through the batcave.

Dick looked at his wrists, confused for a second before seeing the thin line of blood encircling each "Oh. Uh, fine" He shrugged "Maybe just need to wash the blood off"

"You let your guard down" Bruce stated, sounding almost regretful.

Dick had been waiting for this conversation the entire trip back and looked away "Yeah" Was all he could say.

"Because of Kid Flash"

"Well, in fairness, if you had let us help out, we wouldn't have had the oppurtunity to let our guards down"

Bruce turned to glare at his ward, not affecting the eleven year old at all. His glare never really had any affect on the boy even when he first was on the receiving end of it. And Bruce knew, that he was right this time.

"Four heroes was overkill"

Dick internally sighed "I know. But that doesn't make it anyless your fault, or anymore our fault. And don't think that we'll make this mistake every time, Bruce"

"Every time?"

"We will have more team ups" Dick simply stated, his eyes levelling with Bruce's. He showed no signs of standing down.

Bruce knew there was no point in arguing, that Dick was probably right. One way or another, they would work together again. And Bruce trusted that Dick would be smarter next time.

"I'm going to go have a shower. Night Bruce" Dick called, walking up the stairs. He knew Bruce would stay down there for another hour or two, or maybe the whole night. Who really knew with that guy?

* * *

 _I don't usually do 'Author Notes', but I really would like some reviews. This is an old piece of writing, so I kinda want to know what people think._ _But it's your choice. I can't make you.  
But I do hope you enjoyed the story! _


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